Weiss: Global Security at Stake in Syria

8/30/2013 4:08PM

U.S. officials continue to weigh a decision on military action as Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. has "high confidence" the Syrian regime was behind a chemical-weapons attack. Foreign Affairs writer Michael Weiss joins the News Hub with his take. Photo: AP.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... the ... we choose to eat or not ... matters in real ways to our own security ... that ... the increase ... the chemical weapons ... will the ... future and all of the ... terrorists like ... that yet ... I was present Obama insider if they carry and back to back news comes as the title and not evidence of chemical ... weapons attack since area ahead of a possible US is millet re into fashion ... moments ago we land but the U S Navy has missed a ship with helicopters and U S Marines to them and it's rainy and will have analysis and mall ... right here right now on the New Saab ... good afternoon and welcome I'm Simon Constable will with more on the analysis of the situation is getting ... more more complicated by the minute we how far off as one of Michael Weiss ... has reported extensively from Syria thank you Brian much if obeying Hannon said ... he's walk the president wants to do which is to make some limited strikes is is Apple is not the right thing is it enough forty fact it's Deathly not enough um I think the president's been quite adamant about downplaying the significance of strategic depth to see there are no strategic objectives other than to deliver a message ... the strikes are said to be keen to their said to be symbolic ... we're talking about it we need even on open ended campaign center center ... so he is he's essentially broadcasting that this will be a one off ... at least that's the message coming from the White House ... my own view is doing this will do nothing to deter which are lots of amusing ... all this conventional ... means to ... him or kill people ... but also probably ... Guinea indeed use chemical weapons again so I think the other six were people back into this I get pulled back into what about now when the president's pick someone truck airspace that that to what he insists wise one as our enemies and was up ... on people and in the U S and our allies to ALM when he's saying how ... we want to make to limit its right to miss the message to that ... I think it's it's to the American population which is deeply war weary ... on you know this is being done this is the president was elected on an anti war platform ... he bought the rock forms dumb ... he was committed to ending for Nintendo was be doing in the Middle East he has already withdrawn troops from Iraq he points to the same in Afghanistan next year ... he didn't want to do with the campaign and lead from behind scenario very much active ... the last thing he wants ... me he spent two a half years ... talking about new for political solution for Syria ... not getting involved militarily ... in its second innings off the hostage to fortune because now these are gaining instant so ... messy but so that's it for my drum John Kerry you have some some thoughts about what to take ... we know that after a decade of conflict ... the American people are tired of war ... believe me ... I and two ... she does not absolve us of our responsibility ... and don't carry out its ban on same press conference up ... we knew we know that ... we have no possibility Wultz Ahmed al formation with the biggest millet re aam we we have a law to wealth and Hannah Hannah tradition of doing this ... but I think in this ... from what you said this doesn't get salt aware of the sum as strikes with such a Messiah launch as I'm looking at a map there we thought about areas affected by chemical weapons it's all over the place if it's a relief all the little squares that point to different locations ... that says in Damascus on Wednesday on chemical weapons in the news that Summers is all according to the White House so aam and that's what the snow that their reporting ... is a diplomatic solution possible ... use to use a strikes that don't make it in my case how does this that's all well my own ... view ... on them which I should ... say right away is built on the shoulders of an extremely brilliant analyst Chris farmer ... but these two for the study of war ... is that ... the way to do this that is to first ... D well I called regime isolation ... there is twenty seven year basis throughout Syria of which only six car and believes meaning planes and helicopters take a little and every day ... now General Martin Dempsey chairman joint chiefs said well we don't need to Neutral as this year in Air Force because only about ten percent ... of all the tell user ... the product of the year campaign ... what that statistical Arts is a very important fact which is that the stock is fully almost fully rather ... reliance on ... the ... steering Air Force to receive for resupply its ... weapons and I'm not just talking the AK forty seven bullets I'm talking about Iranian made missiles I'm talking about Russian helicopters to somebody not leave ... me on so much more plans than supply planes coming and so does that with the new heat and then when they went in those airports ... in this tapas is offloaded and transferred to various military installations and when I saw wants to be deploy its forces throughout the country ... remember this is a war zone the entire country down on the income planned routes are not very safe for security can be easily interdict by rebels in his preferred method is to fly the stuff to other air bases ... if we were to take out the runway is an adult Upson of the surrounding infrastructure but just as their basis ... he would effectively his weapon supply would try ... and now I see fit to do that you need to have a strategy to become an inch from ... the long term goal ... the public demands it says it doesn't have ... a real strategy doesn't even have a policy tool ... in summer two thousand eleven ... thousand I it's it's caught up in the articulated policy regime change off the loss of sponsors come here is that to ... it's the only time in history that I can recall one U S is effectively on school overseeing it ... the previously articulated policy regime change as recently as a few weeks ago for instance ... white House officials were saying ... our son will no longer will all of Siri ... which is that he's not the rule ... you know the entire country or even several pockets ... until we need to decide what we want to do ... and then can come up with a coherent strategy for income and and and quickly if the US does can fall even a minimal wait do we risk of this being the epicenter of all the Fed will want ... them but not the be the focal wall was spotted just just along the way down on the rights or any ... other the analogy I prefer is this the Spanish Civil War ... and that's a very flawed analogy because this better civil war was the ... criteria on world were to ... look I think what is happening now is this series becoming the Congo on the maturing ... but it's a Congo that simply cannot be contained we can build a wall around this country ... because the borders frankly are still very much artificial ... means of the port with Levanon is almost nonexistent ... Hezbollah goes back and forth the transfers weapons this is what the Israelis have gone in and reach about half a dozen sorties destroying weapons caches intended ... for transfer to oven on ... every single country surrounding Syria has been affected by violent spillover ... particularly Turkey I've been to Turkey three ... times since the conflict I've towards several kilometers inside Turkish territory to see whole swaths ... of the Turkish mountainside charged ... by Syrian regime shelling ... the Turks are so the picture ... that this is in the short term national security threat ... as indeed IPG Jordanians to this out ... the difference there's the Jordanians about the public hodgepodge of neutrality ... but secretly privately at least the way the court in its European and United States ... they are ... very keen on seeing the back of